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Thursday, December 9, 2010

Author Interview - Renee Vincent - Historical Romance

Congratulations to:

Brenda - eBook winner!!

Welcome readers! We're glad you joined us. Today we're on the castle grounds in Ireland with Renee Vincent and Breandan from her newest release, Mac Liam, book two in her Emerald Isle Triology. I'm excited that she was able to make a stop here on her virtual tour with Breandan and her books.

Deanna: Renee, for those of us who have read Raeliksen, we can't wait to get our hands on this book! Thank you so much for taking the time to be with us. What is a typical writing day like for you? Do you play music as you write? Does your office have a window?

Renee: A typical writing day includes me promoting my fellow authors first on Deep In The Heart Romance http://www.deepintheheartromance.com/, answering emails, and then taking a trip outside with my morning coffee (weather permitting, of course) to think over what I’m going to write for the day. I prefer to lay it all out in my head first and then sit down at my writing desk, where the scenes can start to play out on the computer. My husband thinks I’m nuts for doing that, especially since my historicals contain so much detailed content and complex twists. But if I wrote an outline of what was going to happen, I would spend more time modifying the summary than just writing it out in story form.

I love music and my life has always been filled with listening to many different kinds. But I cannot listen to music as I write. However, if I’m going to write a huge battle scene, I like to get all psyched up for the event by listening to some hard rock music like Nickelback or Breaking Benjamin. But if I’m going to write a sensual scene, I prefer to get out my Braveheart or Troy Soundtrack and indulge in the love theme songs.

And yes, my writing room has a huge window! It used to be my living room, but I’ve turned it into an office since our TV and surround sound stereo is downstairs now. I have many great pictures in my writing room too: a beautiful limited edition of the Phantom of the Opera painting by the great Jon Paul Ferrara, a gorgeous map of the Aran Islands off Ireland’s west coast, a 1900 original painting of a castle from my late great grandmother’s wedding, a few castle paintings from my children, and a spectacular painting of King Arthur on his steed! In a room surrounded by all this history, one is bound to write a memorable love story.

Deanna: That all sounds like a wonderful place to create stories. Do you have a favorite plot or conflict for your books?

Renee: I can’t say I have a favorite, although I love the depth of the plots in historical romances verses contemporaries. I feel I am not as limited in what the medieval hero is allowed to do, and if a hero happens to avenge another, I don’t have to deal with legalities of the justice system thereafter. He can literally mow the foe down to save his love and I don’t have to get lawyers involved for his vindicated slaughtering.

Deanna: Did you have a character likeness in mind when you wrote Breandan or did a vision of him come to you after you started his character? Do you have to have a mind’s image of characters before you truly delve into them as a person?

Renee: I definitely have to find a man that fits my image, whether famous or not, in order to really write my hero well. I like to describe their features straight from a picture I’ve found and of course run like mad with my own impression of them for character development. The person I had in mind for Breandán Mac Liam is actor Henry Cavill. I first noticed him in one of my favorite medieval movies Tristan and Isolde, and then fell head over heels for him in Tudors. His body build fits Breandán perfectly and actually the man on my cover looks a bit like him too. I was very pleased with that.

Deanna: I know you have a sound track available for Raeliksen. Will one be available for Mac Liam?

Renee: We’ve talked about it. But I’m not sure if Mícheál Ó Caoinleain will have the time to orchestrate something like this. Who knows…maybe in the future sometime. It’s definitely not a firm “no” though.

Deanna: Breandan, what is it that draws you to a woman?

Breandan: Well first Deanna, I’d like to thank you for inviting me to your blog for an interview. It was most generous of you to include me and I am very grateful for the opportunity to meet your readers. And secondly, to answer your question, I can honestly say I am not drawn to any particular type of woman—only Mara. You see, she is the only woman I have ever loved. From the moment I first saw her, she grabbed my attention and held it so profoundly, I could not rid her from my mind, no matter how many years have since passed. Though she knows not of my love for her, I know I belong with her, and in Mac Liam, I try to make her understand that—with gentle persuasion of course.

Deanna: Do strong women appeal to you? If she can make her own decisions, know what she wants from life, command respect from those around her and still be gentle, do you still find her a challenge?

Breandan: I have always found Mara to be a challenge, simply because she loved Dægan first. And although I would never want to come between them, life has a strange way of creating opportunities you can neither predict nor avoid. In Mac Liam, I have been given a reason to see her again, and of course, because of my love for her—to make sure she is safe and happy—I willingly go to her. Her happiness is all I care about. And the challenge I find, when I reach her, is holding myself back. I have to learn to restrain my emotions for her sake. Which I might add, is very difficult for a man who has dreamed of this woman every second of every day for seven long years.

Deanna: Renee, can you tell us a bit about Mac Liam?

Renee: I’d love to. Here is the blurb:

A tortured soul…

Breandán Mac Liam, the strapping young hunter from Ireland’s lush forests, is in love with Mara, an ineligible beautiful princess. For seven long years, he has been vividly haunted by her memory, taunted by the throes of his heartache. And not even the thought of her marriage to a Northman can extinguish the fierce, burning desire running rampant through his heart and soul.

An innocent heart…

Mara, the spirited Connacht princess, has no idea she is the object of the Irishman’s longing. She is living out her days on Inis Mór, raising a troubled son and trying to endure the cruel loneliness that afflicts her.

A deadly secret…

Ordered by the king on his deathbed, Breandán must return to Mara and bring her through the perilous lands of Connacht to fulfill her father’s last dying wish. But as their worlds collide, Breandán not only finds himself wrapped in the arms of Mara’s embrace, but thrown into a struggle to defend his honor.

With Mara caught between the family she loves and the father she knows, can Breandán uncover the mystery of her past and still protect her from a secret that threatens them all?

Breandan: And if it’s ok with you Deanna, I would like to share one of my favorite scenes with your readers.

Excerpt:

Breandán held poised, his own dismay keeping him frozen in his spot. Whatever reasons he feared in seeing Mara again, they were still at the forefront of his thoughts, and he dared not incite her by reacting too hastily.

Mara stared at him with a look of bewilderment, a gaze that was hard to decipher between awe and hatred, but damn if she wasn’t as beautiful as ever.

Her dark hair trailed her back in one long, thick braid with a few loose strands framing her perfect face. Her lips, slightly parted in wonder, were full and lush. Her body was still dainty. And her waist hardly gave proof she had ever birthed a child.

Those were the few things he noticed because all he could really focus on was her eyes. How could he forget their brilliance? They were the color of emerald fire with flecks of golden sun behind dark feathery lashes.

And God, if they didn’t look right through him now!

Breandán swallowed, feeling a prickling heat rising from his chest and up his neck. Despite that his clothes were soaking wet from the ocean waves and cold against his skin, he was burning up inside.

Mara was absolutely mesmerizing. And when he thought he was finally capable of speech, her mouth slowly curved into a bright smile. His heart slammed out of beat as he watched her beautiful face light up like a flame, her jade eyes dancing with glee.

Mara ran to Breandán, not even noticing Nevan, or the five others standing in her home. There seemed to be no thought in her actions, just an uninhibited determination to run straight to him.

Before she could reach him, he threw his hands in front of him with a hasty warning. “Mara, I am soaking wet!”

But it was too late. Her body, though tiny compared to his muscled form, crashed into his, her arms immediately wrapping around his back, undeterred by the dampness of his clothes.

Breandán stood there, his arms open and suspended away from her as if he had no idea what do with them. He wanted to bring them down around her, to envelope her with all his might, but he was afraid to allow himself to touch her. That if he made the slightest motion toward her, she’d dissipate into thin air like in his many tortuous dreams.

Eventually, against his nagging reservation, he found the will to let his arms fall, and with it came an immense relief as he felt the warm, delicate mass of her body remaining within his grasp. His breath escaped him in a long drawn-out respire, and with it, all of his fears. Mara was finally in his arms and she was real.

Breandán’s emotions were at the highest they had ever been. He wanted to close his eyes and revel in this moment, yet amid the company he shared, he held his excitement within, a feat taking all he had.

Despite the success of restraining his outward body movements, he had absolutely no control over his involuntary bodily responses. Her faint fragrance coupled with the bold feel of her body against him made his heart pound and his blood race. She smelled of expensive oils, quite exotic to his nose, but it was the sweetest aroma he had ever encountered. He drew in a slow breath, savoring it as if it were the last blessing with which he would ever be gifted. He trembled with excitement.

“You are shaking,” Mara said, pulling slightly away from him. At that moment, she seemed to remember how much taller he was compared to her since she had to tilt her head back in order to meet his gaze. “Come, warm yourself by the fire,” she insisted, taking his hand.

Little did she know the simple act of placing her hand in his warmed Breandán to his very soul. Even if he had been totally submerged in the icy waters of the sea, her touch would have lit him afire.

Renee: Yes, I have a question for everyone. Readers, would you rather read a slow, sensual kiss scene between the hero and heroine, or a passionate, I-can’t-hold-back-any-longer kind of kiss scene? And Why?

Anyone who answers my question will be eligible to win a free ebook copy of Mac Liam and autographed bookplates/bookmarks from both Ræliksen and Mac Liam.

Deanna: Renee, it's been a pleasure to have you here and to find out a bit more about MacLiam! Breandan, I'm honored that Renee allowed us to meet you, it was a wonderful surprise! Readers, the comment box is open! Get your responses in and if you have questions for Renee, ask away! Thank you all for joining us today!